Writing to Sponsored Children Ages 5 and Younger

This is the second in a series of posts with suggestions for writing to the child you’re sponsoring through ChildFund.

If your sponsored child is younger than 3, you’re really writing to the child’s parents or guardian. Think of this as an opportunity to learn about the family’s situation as well as the child.

Four-year-old Siquera and his mother peruse a sponsor’s letter.

A child of 2 years or older is often able to draw simple pictures of his or her family or home. Photographs and postcards are good enclosures in your letters for this age group.

A sample letter:

Dear Ricardo,

My name is Miriam. I live in the city of Santa Fe, in the state of New Mexico, in the USA. I have a 19-year-old daughter named Andrea. We are both musicians. I play the piano and Andrea plays the violin.

I have done some traveling, but I have not visited Mexico. And I never had a son of my own. So I decided to sponsor a boy in Mexico, a country that is a neighbor to America but also very unfamiliar to me. I want to learn more about Mexico and what it is like to live there. I chose you, Ricardo, because you like music.

I hope you will tell me about yourself and your family, so I enclosed an All About Me sheet for you to complete. I am very interested in how you celebrate Día de los Muertos. In Santa Fe on the Day of the Dead we eat sweet bread, called pan de muerto, and calaveras, sugar skulls in English. But we do not visit our dead relatives in the cemetery. Could you please draw me a picture of your family’s Day of the Dead celebration?

Sincerely,

Miriam Marshall

Another sample letter:

Chère Aïssatou,

I am writing to introduce myself. My name is Marie and I live in the city of Oakland, in the state of California, in the USA. I am 50 years old and I have a 25-year-old daughter, named Michèle. I am a teacher and I once lived in Senegal, in Saint-Louis, along the Corniche. I taught English to the students at Lycée Faidherbe. I love Senegal so much that I prepare yassa and mafé tiga for my daughter whenever I have the chance.

Recently I made a decision to sponsor a child because I wanted to help another mother and her daughter. When I lived in Senegal, I was called Aïssatou Diallo. I chose to sponsor you because we share the same name.

Pesa, a 5-year-old from Indonesia, draws a picture.

Aïssatou, I hope you will write to me and tell me about your family. I am especially interested in how you celebrated Tabaski. My first memory of Saint-Louis is celebrating Tabaski with my new family there. Perhaps you can draw me a picture of your Tabaski.